WW1
Medal Groups

A WW1/WW2 Family Group, Manchester City Pals/RAF - Named To Rogers

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REFA02589

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£125.00

A family medal group covering WW1 and WW2 awarded to the Rogers Family.

The WW1/WW2 medal group was awarded to Private, Harry Rogers. Rogers had quite a varied military career, (serving with 5 separate units during WW1 in France between January 1916 and 1918), details of which can be seen on his Medal Roll entry which can be viewed by clicking on here, (if you have access to Ancestry).

In summary, he served initially with the 23rd Battalion, (8th City Pals), Manchester Regiment, followed by a spell with the 189th Labour Company, (Labour Corps), then with the 2/7 Battalion West Riding Regiment, followed by the 2/6 Notts and Derby Regiment (the Sherwood Foresters - a deployment he was lucky to survive) and then finally, (following the disbandment of the Sherwood Foresters), with the 24th Battalion (County of London) Regiment (The Queen’s).

All of these units, (and his separate regimental numbers), are confirmed on his Medal Index Card which can be viewed by clicking on here, again if you have access to Ancestry, although a paper copy will be provided with this listing.

I have been unable to trace any service papers related to this man, but I have located this regimental photograph of the ‘city pals’, which includes Rogers and can be viewed by clicking on here, (if you have a subscription to ‘find my past’). Given that he was also awarded with WW2 campaign medals, he must have undertaken some form of home service during this conflict too.

Further details of WW2 medal award criteria, can be viewed by clicking on here and scrolling to the relevant medal entry.

The WW2 group was awarded to 526174, Sargent H(enry) Rogers, who was assigned to the 71st Maintenance Unit, Royal Air Force, (which was based at RAF Bicester from 1939). Given the combination of the awards, I assume that this man served in either the Norwegian Campaign, or (more likely), was in France during 1940. This is based on an additional document which states that his service concluded in June 1940, and he is eligible to wear the 1939-45 Star and Defence Medal ‘ribbon bars and emblems’.

Based on this, I have assumed that he was wounded and took no further part in the hostilities. The medals were posted to him at the address shown as 532 Manchester Road, Hollinfare, Warrington, Lancashire.

I have undertaken no further research into this man other than to look up the Rogers family which lived on Manchester Road Warrington on the 1939 Register. This shows a Henry Rogers born in 1914 which I believe is this man.

The details of his awards are as follows:

1939-45 Star unnamed as issued.

Defence Medal unnamed as issued.

British War Medal unnamed as issued.

Further details of WW2 medal award criteria, can be viewed by clicking on here and scrolling to the relevant medal entry.

The WW1/WW2 medal group are swing mounted, whereas the WW2 medal group medals are loose and come with their original ribbons and wax packets, along with the aforementioned RAF Medal Award Box along with an Air Ministry Medal Award Slip.

FURTHER DETAILS:

In regards to Harry Rogers, he initially served with 23rd Service Battalion, (8th City Pals), Manchester Regiment, in France between January 1916 to May 1917. The battalion had been raised at Manchester in November 1914, so I assume that Rogers had joined up at this time.

In January 1916, the whole regiment had landed at Boulogne and they first went into the front line near Bethune on 7th March 1916. In July 1916, the were later involved in the Battle of The Somme where they saw action at Bus le Artios, Lealvillers, Bazincourt, Avelny Wood, Morlancourt, Happy Valley along with Billon Wood and Talus Bois.

On the 20th July they were in the action at Maltz Hom Farm south of Guillemont, later Trones Wood and on the 29th July they were lent to the 90th Brigade and supported the attack on Guillemont.

In October 1916, they moved to the Arras area and by November the battalion was working on the railways at Bavincourt and Wanquetin. 1917 was a quieter time for Rogers and he was with the battalion at Chilly in March and at Beauvois in April.

In May 1917, Rogers was transferred to the Labour Corp, (presumably either unfit due to sickness, or, perhaps while recovering from wounds), and he served with the 189th Labour Company until October 1917, when he transferred to the 2/7th Battalion, (Duke Of Wellington’s), West Riding Division.

This unit had previously landed in France in January 1917 and served on the Western Front until the Armistice. It fought at Arras and Cambrai, and was involved in the Spring Offensive as well as the Hundred Days campaign. Later (after Rogers departure), the division was the only Territorial Force selected to form part of the Allied occupation force in the Rhineland after the war.

In March 1918, Rogers transferred to the 2/6 Notts & Derby Regiment (the Sherwood Foresters). When the BEF was reorganised in January 1918, the 2/6th Sherwood Foresters received a large draft of men from other units, and this could be the reason for Rogers transfer.

The German Spring Offensive opened on the 21st March (just at the time that Rogers joined the regiment), while the regiment was in the Bullecourt sector of the line. When the German infantry attack came in at 08.30 it was covered by morning mist and within an hour had penetrated and rolled up the line as parties of Sherwood Foresters were cut off and surrounded but fought on until they were overrun. The Commanding Officer of the 2/6th Battalion, Lt-Col H.S. Hodgkin, was among those taken prisoner, and the battalion suffered 131 killed, one of the highest casualty rates of the battle.

The survivors, together with their rear echelon troops, then spent the next 10 days wandering around with divisional HQ on a long retreat. As a consequence of this and further German attacks, the division as a whole suffered such heavy casualties that it was temporarily disbanded and in May its battalions reduced to cadres sent to train new drafts at St Omer.

The 2/6th Battalion was disbanded on 31st July and in August, Rogers was transferred to the 24th (County of London) Battalion (The Queen’s). He spent the remainder of the war with this unit.

I CANNOT SPLIT THIS FAMILY GROUP

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